Choose Your Next-Gen Remote

Seeing as the Asus EEE Keyboard has finally decided to pick up its feet towards production and TVs starting to come packin' with computers built into them, we seem to be headed towards a fork in terms of TV interactivity. On the left, we have a computer integrated into a remote - on the right, a computer built into the TV controllable via your iPhone, iPad, or smart device of choice. If you had an option, which would you choose?

Though we can see the draw of having computers built into TVs, saving on clutter while adding plenty of features within a slim design, one may argue that it's not the greenest route - especially if computers are built in a way not upgradable by the consumer or if they simply keep coming out with new sets every few months.

Above, we have the Allio HDTV with PC and Blu-Ray Player. Unfortunately, the running cost of such a setup will set you back a whopping $1850. Seeing as our pockets are not as big as our eyes, we'll kindly pass for now.

Alternatively, the ASUS EEE Keyboard is now available for pre-order on Amazon for $599. It's still not the cheapest option, but the functionality is fairly similar as are the benefits. Plus, you're not restrained to a single TV monitor.

We're sure there's plenty of other options that have long existed before (such as the legendary Mac Mini and external keyboard), but we've always considered the home theater paradigm of today slightly less than optimal. These new technologies (while pricey) tend to test the models in our minds of the role they play in our daily lives. For now, we'll just have to settle for these interesting approaches, if not create some of our own.